The first reactions for Deadpool 2 are now online. It was a long and arduous journey getting the first Deadpool movie onto the big screen in 2016, starring Ryan Reynolds as the eponymous character. It spent years stuck in development hell and then finally moved forward only after test footage had leaked online. The fan reaction was enough for 20th Century Fox to then commission a movie from director Tim Miller, with a script from Zombieland scribes Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick.

The 2016 Deadpool movie broke records and became an astounding critical and commercial success, especially for an R-rated movie, which is why many studios are now convinced R-rated comic book movies can work on a large scale. And it seems they are using the first film's popularity to go all out on its sequel - directed by David Leitch and based on a script from Reese, Wernick, and Ryan Reynolds - which not only introduces Cable (Josh Brolin) but also the X-Force: Domino (Zazie Beetz), Bedlam (Terry Crews), Shatterstar (Lewis Tan), Zeitgeist (Bill Skarsgård), and more. The question is, does the sequel live up to the hype and can it surpass the first movie?

The critics' first social media reactions to Deadpool 2 are now online, following the initial round of press screenings, and it seems the general consensus is quite positive, with some even hailing this movie as being better than the first one. You can read the SPOILER-FREE reactions below.

Unsubstantiated reports from a month ago indicated that Deadpool 2 was in trouble and that the sequel was testing lower than the first movie, but the above critic reactions seem to suggest that those reports couldn't be further from the truth. People are loving the sequel, with at least one person saying it's better than Marvel's Avengers: Infinity War. That might be difficult to believe for Marvel Cinematic Universe fans, but it's wonderful news for comic book readers who've waited years to see Cable realized on the big screen.

What's interesting is that, beyond the positive general consensus, several critics have said that Deadpool 2 has the best post-credits scene ever. What that scene entails remains to be seen, though it's entirely possible that it could set up the X-Force movie or another Deadpool movie. If not, it could be another play on a classic end-credits scene like the filmmakers did with the first Deadpool movie, recreating the end-credits coda from Ferris Bueller's Day Off.

Overall, Deadpool 2 looks to be another wicked adventure for the Merc With A Mouth, one that more than earns its R rating, yet may also have some questionable narrative choices. Audiences will get to decide for themselves what kind of movie Deadpool 2 is when the film hits theaters next week on May 18.

More: Deadpool 2 Is Expanding The X-Men Universe – Here’s Every New Mutant

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